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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23896531">Valentine’s Reunion</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cosmic_Inkblot/pseuds/Cosmic_Inkblot'>Cosmic_Inkblot</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters: X &amp; Y | Pokemon X &amp; Y Versions</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 16:48:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,704</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23896531</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cosmic_Inkblot/pseuds/Cosmic_Inkblot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Even though Bonnie is out on her Pokémon journey, she is still intent on finding Clemont a keeper. She manages to set him up with a woman she found during her travels. However, when those plans fall through, a surprise visitor and childhood friend swoop in.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Citron | Clemont/Satoshi | Ash Ketchum</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>106</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Valentine’s Reunion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I recently discovered that the entire Kalos saga was on Hulu, and in my binge watching, I realized that I do really ship these two. I appreciate their interaction, and I personally feel that they had better chemistry than Ash and Serena- but that’s merely my opinion. Comments are greatly appreciated!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The cold February wind gently whipped around in the air. Kalos winters were certainly more mild than in other regions of the world, but they were still somewhat unpleasant for Clemont. Being the Lumiose City Gym Leader took away most of his opportunities for travel, and therefor the chance to experience anything much colder than a Kalonisian winter. Of course, he had Clembot to take over when he was younger, but now he’d taken on the responsibility himself.<br/>
Another wind blew by, and he wished Bonnie had allowed him to wear his standard jumpsuit. After all, it was designed to keep him at a comfortable temperature. But she insisted on having complete control over her attempts to set Clemont up with the first eligible person she laid her eyes on, despite his claims he was doing just fine on his own. But Bonnie kept pushing her agenda, insisting that Clemont’s terrible habit of overworking himself in his workshop and neglecting personal care only intensified since she left for her Pokémon journey.</p><p><br/>
So now he was here, waiting under the shelter of a bus stop, trying to ignore his discomfort in the cold and foreign clothes he wore. In all honesty, they weren’t necessarily bad- Blue jeans, white button down shirt, black boots, a light grey overcoat and yellow earmuffs and scarf- they were just so different from his more practical jumpsuit. He pulled out his phone again, wondering when the girl Bonnie had set him up with would arrive. Just then, his phone buzzed.<br/>
<br/>
<em>Hey, Clemont! It’s me, Violette. I’m truly sorry about this, but my mother has fallen ill, and I’m staying with her to help care for her Pokémon. Once she’s feeling better, I’d be more than happy to reschedule something to make up for this. Happy Valentine’s day!</em><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
In spite of himself, he felt a strange sense of relief. He’d only video chatted with Violette a few times before after Bonnie met her at a Pokemon Center. She seemed nice enough, but Clemont couldn’t feel any romance blooming between them. Whether or not that was caused by a childhood crush that refused to leave was irrelevant.<br/>
<br/>
<em>No worries- Send your mother my best wishes. Happy Valentine’s day to you as well.</em><br/>
<br/>
He began walking back to the Prism Tower, mentally sorting out which of his responsibilities to tackle first. Since gyms were closed on holidays, he’d have time to do more than the typical spot cleaning he did after dinner. Then he would begin to tackle all the unread emails in his inbox, work more on his pitches for a more commercially available Aipom Arm, and if he had time he would get started on putting the dishes away...<br/>
<br/>
“Clemont! Clemont! Wait up!” A voice called from behind him, stopping him in his tracks and yanking him out of his train of thought.<br/>
<br/>
“Ash? Is that really you?” He whirled around and saw his childhood best friend running up to him, waving frantically. Pikachu was running by his side, also shouting in excitement.<br/>
<br/>
“You bet! Man, its great to see you again! In person, that is.” He skidded to a stop, barely catching his footing on the slick roadways. Clemont had to marvel at how little he had changed. His energy and indomitable spirit were the same as ever, and his wardrobe was much the same as well, save for the warmer coat he donned on top of his shirt.<br/>
<br/>
His hair was still as spiky and raven black as it was whenever they video called. But he never realized how tall he’d gotten, or how much more attractive he was in person. Pikachu leapt on top of Ash’s shoulder, affectionately squeaking as he leapt onto Clemont and rubbed against his face.<br/>
<br/>
“I never knew you were coming to the Kalos region!” Clemont grinned, opening his arms for a hug, which Ash quickly reciprocated. Clemont was grateful for the cold and the excuse it would provide about his rapidly growing blush. “It’s great to see you again too!” Ash let his arms fall to his sides and stepped back. Pikachu leapt onto its usual perch on his shoulder.<br/>
<br/>
“Well, I wanted to try and see how Greninja was doing, so I decided I’d also take a trip and say hi to everyone!” Ash explained. “So, what’s the occasion? I’ve never seen you in such fancy clothes before! Well, at least voluntarily.”</p><p>“For the record, the outfit wasn’t really my choice,” He chuckled. “You see, Bonnie is still trying to find me a significant other. She met someone on her journey and set me up with her. But her mom ended up getting sick, so she just cancelled.”<br/>
<br/>
“Oh yeah, It’s valentine’s day! Sorry about your plans, though,” Ash sympathized.<br/>
<br/>
“Oh, it’s alright. I didn’t really feel like anything would work out between us anyways. She’s nice and all, but I didn’t sense anything really happening, you know?” Clemont replied, rubbing his hands together to help with the cold. Bonnie’s wardrobe plan sadly lacked a pair of gloves.<br/>
<br/>
“Well, since we’re here, I’d love to take you out to dinner if your original date can’t! We can catch up and maybe even have a Pokémon battle afterwards! And I’d love to see the gym again!” He grinned, a slight blush showing on his face. Clemont cursed his paleness, as the bright red of a blush was largely apparent. He could hardly believe it was happening. How could this not be a dream-his crush from childhood offering to take him out, and on Valentine’s day, no less?<br/>
<br/>
“That sounds wonderful, Ash,” Clemont accepted. “Where would you like to go?”<br/>
<br/>
“Ah geez, I forgot most of the restaurants around here...” Ash sighed. Clemont couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. He really hadn’t changed much from when he was a kid traveling and collecting Gym Badges.<br/>
<br/>
“If you’d like, I can take you to my favorite restaurant.” ”Sweet! What kind of stuff do they serve?” ”Ramen dishes. They’ve got all kinds of different flavors from all over, including outside of Kalos. They’ve got stuff for Pokémon, too!” ”Sounds awesome! Lead the way, Clemont!” Ash grinned. Clemont began walking along the cobbled streets to the establishment, with Ash night next to him. He was still a terrible runner, having little time to devote to fitness training in between his inventing and gym battles. Ash didn’t seem to mind, though. He was just ecstatic to be talking with his friend again.<br/>
<br/>
“How have you been doing? It’s been forever since we’ve had the time to call,” Clemont asked.<br/>
<br/>
“Great! After winning the Alolan League, I went back home to Kanto to go visit my home and tell everyone about what had happened. I stayed there for a bit, but I ended up getting kinda bored, you know?” One of Ash’s hands was making gestures as he spoke. The other had been brushing up against Clemont’s as they walked, making his heart flutter like the wings of a Vivillon. Ash then gently grabbed the other mans hand, hardly breaking the flow of the conversation. Clemont scrambled to collect himself before he turned into a blushing, love struck mess.<br/>
<br/>
“Mm-hmm,” He replied. It wasn’t one of his more eloquent replies- His thoughts were still to scattered for that. However, Ash didn’t seem to notice, and merely carried on like nothing happened.<br/>
<br/>
“After all, I’d been on the road with my Pokémon for so many years.” He rubbed the back of his head in thought. “I missed traveling and I missed battling. And I missed everyone I traveled with most of all. So, I thought I should travel again and take a quick trip around everywhere I’d been! And it’s been a while since I’ve seen Greninja anyways.” <br/>
<br/>
“And here we are!” Clemont stopped at the doors of the restaurant, and they quickly walked inside.<br/>
<br/>
“Welcome! How many are going to be with you today?” The hostess asked.<br/>
<br/>
“Just the two of us and Pikachu,” Ash answered. Clemont know it was selfish, but he couldn’t deny the fluttery, almost giddy feeling that arose upon hearing Ash say that simple phrase, regardless of how casual and non romantic it was.<br/>
<br/>
“Of course. Right this way. I’ll be out with menus in just a moment,” she replied. They sat down at a small, cozy booth right next to the window.<br/>
<br/>
“What’s the gym like nowadays?” Ash asked.<br/>
<br/>
“Well, the Kalos League has recognized the Lumiose City Gym as the best in Kalos!” Clemont confessed.<br/>
<br/>
“Woah, really? That’s awesome!” Ash beamed, his pride in his former traveling companion almost palpable. Pikachu also offered its cries of congratulation.<br/>
<br/>
“Here are the menus. Is there anything you’d like to drink?” The waitress asked, setting down two large pieces of laminated paper. Ash fought the urge to shake them to hear the <em>fwubuwubwub</em> sound they made.<br/>
<br/>
“I’ll take an orange soda, please,” Ash ordered.<br/>
<br/>
“Coffee would be great, thank you,” Clemont said.<br/>
<br/>
“Would you like any milk or sugar with that?” The waitress asked.<br/>
<br/>
“Yes please,” he replied, shrugging his coat off and putting it on the back of the chair.<br/>
<br/>
“I’ll be back in a moment with your drinks,” She said, walking off.<br/>
<br/>
“How else have things been, besides the gym being the best one around?” Ash leaned took of his cap and set it on the table. His hair was flattened from having it on top of his head all day, but he didn’t bother to try and fix it. Clemont found it cuter than he reasonably should have.<br/>
<br/>
“Rather busy, to be honest. I’m still inventing whenever I can, and whatever projects prove themselves to have the most potential I pitch out to larger tech companies for production. I’d open up my own lab if I could, but I couldn’t balance that and my responsibilities as gym leader.”<br/>
<br/>
“Couldn’t you build a robot like Clembot to take over the battles?”<br/>
<br/>
“I would. But I’ve grown up now, and I should really take care of my gym. Besides, opening up my own lab would take a lot of time and money I don’t have quite yet.”<br/>
<br/>
“Well, whatever you wanna do, I’ll be supporting you!” Ash grinned. He placed his hand on top of Clemont’s, seemingly unknowingly. Clemont hardly dared to make a move in case Ash would move his hand.<br/>
<br/>
The waitress returned to the table, placing the bottle of soda, mug, and creamers and sugars on the table.<br/>
<br/>
”Here are your drinks. Would you be interested in hearing about tonight’s valentine’s special?” She poured the coffee as she spoke.<br/>
 <br/>
“Why not?” Ash shrugged.<br/>
<br/>
•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~<br/>
<br/>
“Well that sure was fun!” Ash commented, following clemont back to Prism Tower. “Man, Lumiose sure is pretty at night.”<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
“Well, It is nicknamed the city of light,” Clemont answered, daring to brush his hand against the other mans. He accepted it without a second thought, like they’d been doing this for months or even years. He appreciated the soft warmth, especially when a light snow was beginning to fall.<br/>
<br/>
“Heh. Makes sense.” “How long are you going to stay in the Kalos region?”<br/>
<br/>
“Huh? I’m not sure. You see, I didn’t know how long I was going to be here, so I didn’t book a return ticket.”<br/>
<br/>
”Well, if you ever need a place to say in Lumiose, you’re more than welcome to stay at the gym.”<br/>
<br/>
”Really? Thanks, Clemont!”<br/>
<br/>
“Of course!”<br/>
<br/>
They arrived at the tower a moment later. The fluorescent lights and the snow added a unique sheen to Ash’s dark hair. Pikachu was entertaining itself by running around and chasing the snowflakes that were drifting to the ground nearby.<br/>
<br/>
“It was great to spend some time with you again,” The gym leader admitted. Their hands were no longer intertwined, but the lingering warmth still remained.<br/>
<br/>
”Yeah, it was great to see you too,” Ash replied. There was a moment of silence between them as blue eyes gazed into brown. The blush on Ash’s face got Clemont thinking. Did he really harbor the same feelings, or was this all the products of his childhood crush surfacing upon seeing him in person? But they did hold hands on multiple occasions, and he never spoke of a significant other at any point.<br/>
<br/>
“Thank you for dinner,” Clemont murmured. His stomach felt like it was trying to flutter away, and his heart was hammering against his ribs. He deeply wanted to kiss him right then an there. But if he miscalculated what Ash’s views on him were, that would blow up in his face worse than any of his inventions ever had. The chances of success were uncertain, but the rewards would be immeasurable. Besides, he could always pass it off as a Kalosian method of saying farewell, right?<br/>
<br/>
No. He’d see straight through that flimsy lie, or worse, try it out on someone and embarrass himself. It would be better off to leave these feelings buried or to give him a proper confession.<br/>
<br/>
He planned on saying goodbye, walking inside, and getting some more work done before he inevitably passed out on his keyboard at two in the morning. He had even inhaled in preparation of forming the words “see you around” or something similar. Instead, his hand jerked to grasp Ash’s again. He didn’t pull away, but merely looked at Clemont with slight curiosity. And before either of them could even think of what to do next, Clemont had quickly pressed his lips against Ash’s cold, snow dusted cheek in a kiss.<br/>
<br/>
Ash stood there, completely star struck. His face was accentuated in a dark red blush, but it seemed pale compared to what was on Clemont’s face. He immediately clasped his hands to his mouth, shame burning in his stomach.<br/>
<br/>
“I-I’m incredibly sorry! I don’t know what I was thinking- actually, I wasn’t even thinking at all! I didn’t mean to act in such a away without asking, an-“<br/>
<br/>
”Do you...like me?” Ash asked, pointing at himself. “Of course! You’re my best friend, after all.” ”I mean, <em>like</em> me. As in, wanna date me?” He stepped closer as the blonde’s blush grew.<br/>
<br/>
“Admittedly... yes. I do. And I understand if you don’t reciprocate this. You’ve only ever considered me a friend for so long, and you may just never be attracted to me in the first place, and- Oh Arceus, I’ve really messed up now, haven’t I?”<br/>
<br/>
The silence that followed afterwards was deafening. Ash only stood still for a second, but Clemont could’ve sworn twenty years had passed. He braced himself for the look of disgust or an awkward rejection or whatever Ash’s reaction would be. After all, it was certain to be negative, right?<br/>
<br/>
To Clemont’s surprise, Ash stepped closer, leaning in slightly. He placed his gloved hands on the other’s shoulders, before he pulled them together for a proper kiss. Their mouths collided rather unceremoniously, and Clemont’s heart was beating impossibly fast.<br/>
<br/>
The kiss ended as quickly as it had started, leaving him breathless and with his thoughts spiraling.<br/>
<br/>
“Can I visit the gym tomorrow?” Ash asked, Pikachu jumping back on his shoulder.<br/>
<br/>
“Uh.. Y-yes, of course! I’d love to show you around,” Clemont stuttered, his burning blush having not faded at all.<br/>
<br/>
“Its a date! See you tomorrow!” Ash began walking away, grinning and waving. Pikachu waved as well, though it was oblivious as to what had just transpired. No matter- Ash would certainly tell it as soon as they got to their hotel.<br/>
<br/>
Clemont felt his phone buzz. He opened it as he walked to the elevator.<br/>
<br/>
<em>How was your date today? What did you guys do? Is she a keeper???</em> He smiled to himself as he typed out his reply. Of course Bonnie would want all the details as soon as possible. <br/>
<br/>
<em>Are you free to call? Today was pretty eventful, and it would be easier to tell you over the phone.<br/>
</em><br/>
She replied by calling him right then and there.<br/>
<br/>
“Clemont! I’ve been waiting in the Pokémon Center all day just so I could hear about your date! What happened? Is Violette nice? Is she a keeper?”<br/>
<br/>
”Well, you see, today didn’t go quite as planed... It’s a long story, so I hope you’re free for a while.”</p>
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